Tuesday, January 20, 2009

CPBL:Elephants star pitcher Yu-Cheng Liao was rewarded with a 100% salary increase after having a career year. Liao will make 160 K NT/month in 2009, making him the 4th highest player on the team.

Chin-Hui Tsao's agent is trying to negotiate a performance bonus laden contract (up to 3 million NT if all performance expectations are met) that the Elephants are deeming too high in price. The two parties have settled on a monthly salary (350 K NT/month).

The Bears are also trying to come to an agreement with draft pick Po-Hsuan Keng's agent.

Another Bears pick - OF Chih-Yao Chan is still waiting to hear back from MLB teams (reportedly 3 teams). He has said that the current offers are too low; his agent is trying to persuade him not to join the CPBL right away, but rather wait & try again next year.

NPB:Yi-Jie Hsiao's collegiate coach in Japan is under investigation for a health insurance scam. The coach used many of his players' names including Hsiao's. The Hanshin Tigers deemed Hsiao innocent since he unwittingly signed the medical papers for his coach whom he trusted.

*The reason for why Dragon Lo doesn't need an agent is because he has Ming (Kuo) Harbor (the Rockies director of Pac-Rim Operations) taking care of things an agent would normally handle for him. There are rumors that she advised him against signing with other agents.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

WBC:The NT lost a potential member when Nippon Ham Fighter IF Chung-Shou Yang withdrew his name from consideration for the team. Coach Yeh will not be able to add a replacement for Yang and will only be able to select from the 44 remaining players to field his final roster.

MILB:Rockies farmhand Ching-Lung Lo is a bit different from the rest of the players in the US. Lo is the only player currently without a rep (sports agent). Should he get the call to the majors, Lo will then seek assistance from an agent at that time.

CPBL:The Bears and one of their top picks -RHP Po-Hsuan Keng are still negotiating a contract - the difference between the two sides is about 50 K NT/month (Bears offered 150 K NT/mo while Keng is seeking 200 K NT/mo).The Bears other top pick OF Chih-Yao Chan, who is waiting to hear back from teams overseas, should have an answer for the team by the 20th of this month.

In a push to sign 2007 top pick Yi-Chuan Lin, the Sinon Bulls have agreed to let Lin play in the WBC even if he comes to an agreement with the team before then. Bulls 2008 pick Chien-Ming Chiang is also being allowed by the team to go to Australia next month (Lin was given the green light as well). The Bulls are one of two teams (along with the Bears) who have not allowed their players to participate in the WBC.

CPBL:Although no agreement has yet been reached between Tsao's reps and the Elephants, there is a good chance that Tsao will stay in Taiwan this year. With the stipulation from the Elephants that Tsao's monthly salary would not surpass Chia Chia's 400 K NT/month deal, Tsao would likely receive roughly ~ 350 K NT/month if he chooses to sign with the Elephants.

Other:

Former Bull: CH Chang

One player has been selected by a Japanese independent league (Shikoku-Kyushu Island League) after the tryout held in December. 24 year old catcher Cheng-Hsien Chang was chosen by the Kagawa Olive Guyners. He will join fellow Taiwanese players - Yao-Hua Yang (scroll down to the bottom - last player listed on the page) (with the Fukuoka Red Warblers) and Cheng-Da Wu (Kishu Rangers in the Kansai Independent League) in the Japanese independent leagues. Yang is the older brother of Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks IF Chung-Shou Yang.

The S-K Island League was respectful of the Taiwanese players who participated in the tryout but yet were selected in the CPBL "special draft", by not selecting those players. Some of those players included Wei-Ming Chu (Lions), Yu-Chan Liu (Elephants), Chao-Hao Tseng (Bears), Yi-Wei Lee (Bulls), & Ssu-Chi Chou (Elephants).

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Although nothing official has been released, the Liberty Times and Apple Daily have put up an estimate of what Ni received: a ~ $175 K signing bonus with an annual salary of $60 K. The amount of the signing bonus was not released per Ni's request.

The IBAF has ranked Taiwan in the top 5 of the world. The rankings are based on the overall strength of the country's baseball programs from top to bottom - beginning with the youth NT and ascending all the way up to the senior NT.*UPDATED

Tim Ireland, the former TML manager (with the Gida), has been hired as the Devil Rays Pac-Rim scouting coordinator and is making the rounds to high schools in Taiwan. He is also making an appearance on the Formosa TV network this week. He was responsible for the biggest signing in Taiwan's history when (as the Pac-Rim Scouting Coordinator for the Rockies) he helped the Colorado Rockies ink Chin-Hui Tsao for $2.2 million in 1999.

NT:The Bulls have also recommended that lefty Ying-Chieh Lin withdraw his name from NT considerations, bringing the former 48-man preliminary roster number down to 40.So with the 19th deadline to settle on a 45 man preliminary roster for the WBC looming, coach Yeh and staff have added 5 additional player to essentially finalize the 45 man preliminary NT roster. The 5 new additions are:

Aside from WL Pan and FH Liu, the Lions have agreed to let their other players be available for the NT. However, the Lions players will not be available to go to Australia - a key time for coach Yeh and his staff to make decisions on who will make the final cut.

Monday, January 12, 2009

WBC:No CMW, CFC, WY Chen, YC Chen, EY Lin, etc. leaves a gaping hole in the national team's roster. The NT will now also be without the services of Hong-Chih Kuo and Chin-Lung Hu. Astros farmhand Chia-Jen Lo will also not be available for the WBC while the President Lions are requesting that P Wei-Lun Pan and OF Fu-Hao Liu be removed from the preliminary NT roster. So of the 48 players selected to the preliminary NT roster only 41 names remain.

An iota of good news? The newest member of a ML franchise - Fu-Te Ni will be allowed by the Tigers to participate in the WBC.

Hanshin Tigers 2008 first round pick YJ Hsiao will participate in the exhibition games going on in Australia. He hopes to match up against Ichiro in the WBC.

The CTBA will file a complaint to MLB regarding the fact that many teams refused to let their Taiwanese players participate in this tourney.

Pity coach Yeh for having his hands tied regarding the available talent pool for the WBC.

Other:ChiayiHS seniors LHP Kuan-Ru(Ju) Chen and RHP/INF Hsin-Hao Huang will go to Japan for college (a division II college in Osaka). Several coaches/recruiters from Japan are currently in Taiwan recruiting/scouting graduating HS & junior HS players to get them to play baseball & attend school in Japan.

The Brother Elephants are giving Chin-Hui Tsao until the 20th of this month to decide if he will join the team that drafted him.

The NYY coaches have noted that the "catchers are not good defensively". The coaches were also pleasantly surprised by the size and potential of some of the kids - i.e. Nan-Ying P Chia-Hao Sung (6'1") and Ku-Pao P Shao-Ching Chiang (6'2") were both clocked at 85 mph.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

CPBL:CFC received a new 3 year deal worth ~ 10 million (10,010,000) NT a year (~$301 K USD), making him still the CPBL's highest paid player. CFC agreed to waive his third year salary should the Bears or the league find itself in a financial bind.

Chia Chia received a 25% increase in his annual salary and will make ~$145 K USD (4.8 million NT) in 2009; Chia Chia is the second highest paid non-pitcher in the league (Lions RHP Wei-Lun Pan is the second highest paid player in the league - he'll make 500 K NT/month (6 million NT/year) in 2009.

WBC:Tough break for the NT: potential staff ace Wei-Yin Chen will not be participating in the WBC. Despite being selected to the preliminary WBC NT roster, Chen cited last season's struggles in the NPB after the Beijing Olympics as the reason for withdrawing his name from consideration. Another lefty, Si-Yo Wu has also declined to participate in the WBC.

Other:The junior HS tourney: the Kang-Tu Cup has kicked off.

At the Yankees clinic, the NYY coaches said that the Taiwanese players are being overtrained (pitchers jog for an hour and throw 120 pitch bullpen sessions). A major disappointment in the camp: not many Taiwanese HS coaches have attended the camp.

Fly in the Spider Web: Baseball Fly is back at it again. The latest post calls BS on agent Jerry Sung regarding his client Chih-Lung Huang. Basically the article says that the agent reported that Huang turned down a $150 K offer from the Texas Rangers in 2007 and then a $125 K offer from the same team last year. Baseball Fly reported that Jim Colburn (the Texas Rangers Director of Pac-Rim Operations in 2007) stated that Chih-Lung Huang was only offered $50 K in 2007.

The Detroit Tigers signed former Chinatrust Whales LHP Fu-Te Ni, according to UDN reports. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, although there has been some speculation regarding what Ni was offered. Ni, considered the top lefty in the CPBL, was making roughly $3,600/month this past season.......a tough break for the Brother Elephants who've been hit with a case of deja vu - remember TJ Yeh?*edited

Here's an English bio on Ni. In 2008 CPBL play, the two-year pro had 5 wins and 12 losses to go with a 3.34 ERA over 145.1 IP. He led the league in K's with 132 and allowed 35 BB's. Ni throws comfortably in the mid to upper 80's (he's topped out at 93 mph) and throws a slider, curve, changeup, and forkball.

The Yankees, courtesy of the CTBA, get an opportunity to check out some of the top young pitchers out there in Taiwan all in one scoop.Let's hope that the amateur talent pool improves as Rene Gayo in a recent interview with MLBTW.net said that he saw no players (he was at the 2008 HS Wood Bat Tourney) with the ability to reach the major leagues - no major league qualif(t)y player.